There is known from the prior art the assembly of more or less tube-shaped structural components (1A to 1D) such as the junction of aircraft fuselage sections, as shown by FIG. 1, or the wing-group junction on the central box of the said fuselage.
Such junctions (100A to 100E) are referred to as orbital, because they are implemented following the periphery of the section of the components to be joined. The structural assembly of the components joined in this way is accomplished through fastenings such as rivets, this operation taking on the name of “orbital seam.”
In order to ensure the mechanical continuity of the structure assembled in this way, the components must be in close contact at the junction. This implies that the two components are manufactured with precision so that at the junction interface the shapes of the two components are identical or fully complementary depending on whether the junction is implemented end to end or by interlocking.
According to this prior art, the structural components are made up of metal panels, referred to as “skin panels” or “skin,” stiffened by longitudinal stiffeners, commonly called “stringers,” and peripheral stiffeners, commonly referred to as “frames.” Still according to the prior art, the stringers are assembled with the skin panel by riveting, just like the frames, the stringers, the frames and the skin also being joined together at the frames by splices, themselves riveted to these three components. The said splices are trihedral junction parts made in a single or several part(s), by folding or by swaging. The stiffened panels are assembled according to longitudinal seams so as to form a tube-shaped section. The longitudinal seams as well as the assembly of the stiffeners on the skin panels are implemented by fastenings such as rivets.
In order to allow a perfect fit at the junction, the fastenings of the longitudinal stiffeners are not installed between the end of the panel and the first frame, just as the longitudinal seam between the skin panels is not provided over this same distance. In this way there is a certain flexibility that makes it possible to adjust the shape and the perimeters of the junction interface of a structural component to that of the other structural component. In this way, close contact between the two components, a guarantee of mechanical continuity of the assembly, is obtained.
In order to lighten the structure and increase performances of the aircraft, it is known to replace the metal with fiber-reinforced composite materials. These materials are used in particular for the manufacture of skin panels. The manufacturing methods allowed by these materials advantageously make it possible to obtain larger-size panels; in this way a fuselage section may be implemented, for example, by the assembly of 4 panels following longitudinal seams. The said fuselage section even may be implemented without any longitudinal seam, in a single cylindrical part comprising all the longitudinal and peripheral stiffeners added by co-baking, such as described, for example, in the patent application US2006/060705 A1. According to this composition, the structural components are far more rigid and do not have sufficient flexibility to withstand the variations of shape and perimeter between the two components to be assembled at the orbital seams. The absence or the reduced number of longitudinal seams no longer makes it possible to impart sufficient flexibility through the absence of installation of fastenings at the seam end.
Defects in shape must be compensated by an optimized wedging of one section in relation to the other and by local compensation operations, in particular by additions of resin, an operation commonly referred to as “shimming.” Defects in perimeters are far more difficult to correct. Thus, according to this prior art, a method for assembly of such a structural component with another structural component through an orbital junction comprises the steps consisting in:                measuring the junction interfaces of the two components        deducing the optimal position of one component in relation to the other        implementing the junction “blank” between the two components, that is to say, by installing only temporary fastenings        measuring the spaces between the components by shims,        deducing therefrom a “shimming” plan for each component        taking apart the two components; this operation is commonly called “splitting”        performing the shimming        describing the two components for the assembly and performing the assembly.        
These operations of splitting and shimming are very disadvantageous in terms of productivity.
A need therefore exists for a method for assembly of structural components of this type which is both productive and economical while ensuring a fit of the shapes and perimeters of the components at the joining interface.
Furthermore, the composite materials making up the skin of such structural components do not have a sufficient surface hardness to allow an assembly by interlocking, which assembly requires a relative axial movement of one component in relation to the other.
In fact, such a movement could generate frictions likely to damage the folds located close to the contact surface and thus generate delaminations.
In this way, according to the prior art, the joining operations consist in:                aligning the two components positioned end to end        fastening to the two components a ferrule made up of at least two parts and covering the junction, establishing the mechanical attachment between the components.        
This operation, of course, also must be implemented “blank” during the step intended for measuring the interface defects.
It is known, for example from patent applications EP0889275A and FR2758175A as well as from patent GB1366139, to implement longitudinal slots at the end of tube-shaped structures such as channelings in order to facilitate assembly thereof. Such structures, however, do not comprise longitudinal and peripheral stiffeners such as, for example, the structural components making up the fuselage of an aircraft.